The present inventor has heretofore disclosed and patented (U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,096) a method for diagnosing growth hormone disorders employing somatostatin infusion. That diagnostic procedure includes the infusion of somatostatin into the bloodstream of a sleeping patient, coupled with monitoring the growth hormone content of the patient's blood every twenty minutes during the night. The degree of suppression of growth hormone secretion is monitored, together with the rebound rate of secretion after the infusion is stopped.
That patented procedure represents the prior art most relevant to this disclosure.
An article by G. S. Tannenbaum, published in Vol. 124 of Endocrinology, at pps. 1380-1388 (1989), entitled "Paradoxical Enhancement of Pituitary Growth Hormone (GH) Responsiveness to GH-Releasing Factor in the Face of High Somatostatin Tone" is also of interest because it discusses the interplay of somatostatin and growth hormone releasing factor. Also of interest is an article by J. Devesa and others entitled "Reasons for the Variability in Growth Hormone (GH) Responses to GHRH Challenge: The Endogenous Hypothalmic-Somatotroph Rhythm (HSR)," published in Clinical Endocrinology (1989), pps. 367-377.